I am encouraged by the progress to date on E-Grants, the interagency
initiative to simplify the Federal grants process. I seek your personal
support in implementing two projects that will streamline grant announcements.

Standard Format for Grant Announcements

Currently, agencies announce grant opportunities in a variety of venues
and formats, making it difficult for potential grant recipients to locate
possible sources of funding. The interagency grants team developed a proposed
standard format for grant announcements, which was published for comment
in the Federal Register on August 12, 2002. I encourage your agency to
offer comments and suggestions.

Standard Grant Synopsis Data

The Federal Register announcement also includes proposed synopsis data,
which are the search terms a prospective grant recipient would use to
identify grant opportunities. We want to ensure that the search terms
capture the needs of grant-seekers. After we receive comments and resolve
them, all grant-making agencies will be required to use this synopsis
format to advertise all grant opportunities through www.FedBizOpps.gov
which currently is the single government point-of-entry for Federal Government
procurement opportunities. The interagency grants team and the General
Services Administration have produced a pilot system for grant synopsis
announcements using the FedBizOpps model, and I strongly encourage you
to actively participate in this pilot. Contact Rebecca Harding at 202-690-8655
for more information regarding this pilot.

Your support for these two efforts will strengthen your agency's ability
to successfully deploy E-Grants as a one-stop portal, thus fulfilling
one of the criteria for success in Electronic Government on the Executive
Branch Management Scorecard. Questions about this memorandum may be directed
to Joseph L. Kull, Deputy Controller, at 202-395-3993.